Soluble dietary fiber is a type of dietary fiber that can be dissolved in hot or warm water, can be degraded by various microorganisms in the intestine without being decomposed by human digestive enzymes. Soluble dietary fiber can maintain intestinal health, strengthen immunity, reduce blood sugar, blood lipids and blood pressure, reduce the incidence of diabetes, reduce cholesterol, prevent cardiovascular disease, and also has other physiological functions.
Xylooligosaccharide, also known as xylo-oligomer, is a type of soluble dietary fiber that can be dissolved not only in warm or hot water, but also in cold water or ethanol solvent. It is mainly composed of 2-9 xylose molecules bound with beta-1,4 glycosidic bonds to form a functional polymer sugar, in which xylobiose, xylotriose, and xylotetraose are the main active ingredients. Xylooligosaccharide cannot be decomposed by various digestive fluids of the human body, the function of which is to not raise blood sugar, but reduce cholesterol, bidirectionally regulate constipation and diarrhea, etc. At the same time, it is contributive to the intestinal function protection, improvement of the intestinal flora balance in the body (human and animal), promotion of the growth of intestinal beneficial bacteria and inhibition of the propagation of harmful microorganisms, it can significantly improve the proportion of Bifidobacterium and other probiotics, and thus promotes the absorption of nutrient minerals, and improves body immunity. Therefore, as a functional sweetener and additive, xylooligosaccharide can meet all the population, including special populations with diabetes, obesity, etc.
However, at present in different fields of applications, food grade xylooligosaccharide still faces many problems. First, the purity, color and luster, impurities and other indicators directly affect the appearance quality of the product. Second, the relatively low proportion of functional active ingredients (xylobiose, xylotriose) in the product affects the health benefit of the product.